Oct. 04, 2012

This Friday we'll talk with mathematician Steven Strogatz, about his new book "The Joy of X." To get you primed for thinking about equations, here's a selection of math-inspired art.

Hong Kong-based high school math teacher Suman Vaze says she spends much of the day "thinking of and marveling at sequences, patterns, puzzles, and other mathematical curiosities." Her work "Bubbles in May" (below) is inspired by Johnson circles -- three circles of equal radii passing through a common point.

Artist Sienna Morris doesn't paint, but she does use numbers. Lots and lots of tiny little numbers. Morris sketched "Einstein" (below) using equations that describe the photoelectric effect as well as the "famous" E=mc2. The equations literally make the man. (See "Einstein detail" below.)

Alan Singer teaches digital art and printmaking at Rochester Institute of Technology. Singer says every part of the two images below is a "mathematical visualization" or the translation of an equation.

On using math for inspiration Singer says "I used to think art and mathematics were on different planets, now I see it as part of a continuum. With the help of a computer, anything that can be measured can be visualized. We already see astounding things at the cinema, and now I want to bring that to the fine arts." You can see more of Singer's work here.